Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴) founder and executive chairman Jack Ma (馬雲) is withdrawing from an anti-counterfeiting convention in Florida just two days before he was scheduled to give the keynote speech.
Alibaba announced the move on Tuesday following last week’s suspension of the company’s membership in the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition (IACC), a small, but influential, group that lobbies US officials and testifies before the US Congress.
Ma is a self-made billionaire, and Alibaba, which he founded in 1999, went public in 2014 in the biggest initial public offering of stock to date. However, some IACC members view the company as the world’s largest marketplace for fakes.
Members of the IACC rebelled against Alibaba’s membership in the group and were further upset about conflicts of interest involving IACC president Robert Barchiesi.
According to reports, Barchiesi had stock in Alibaba, had close ties to an Alibaba executive and had used family members to help run the coalition. The conflicts of interest were not fully disclosed to the IACC board and it has since hired an independent firm to review its corporate governance policies.
The IACC Web site said Ma was scheduled to talk today about the importance of e-commerce and Alibaba’s efforts to protect intellectual property rights on its platforms.
Instead, Alibaba president Michael Evans is to represent the company at the annual spring conference in Orlando, Florida, and is to “reinforce Alibaba’s commitment to fighting counterfeits and the importance of strong collaboration between brands, governments and intermediaries.”
Alibaba also alluded to its suspension from the IACC, calling it a “step in the wrong direction and regrettable. It highlights a fundamental difference in how we want to solve this problem.”
After Alibaba’s controversial inclusion in the group last month, Michael Kors and Gucci America quit in protest. Then Tiffany walked out, citing concerns over governance issues. Gucci is suing Alibaba in US court, alleging that the e-commerce giant knowingly profits from the sale of fakes. Alibaba has dismissed the case as “wasteful litigation.”
The Washington-based coalition has more than 250 members.
US Ambassador to China Max Baucus still plans to deliver his keynote at the conference as scheduled, US embassy spokesman Benjamin Weber said yesterday.
Ma was at the White House on Tuesday to have lunch with US President Barack Obama, according to a White House official, who was not authorized to comment by name and requested anonymity.
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